Super Dad
by mwwhitacre
Summary: Captain Steve Rogers, the first avenger. We all know him in his role as a superhero, but what about an equally challenging role: a single parent. Steve learns that it takes a village, or a tower of superheroes, to raise a child. Series of one-shots.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I haven't given up on writing "Within." I'm starting to reach the darker parts of it and I kind of wanted to write something a little less depressing. This idea has been on my mind for awhile and so far it's been a lot of fun to write, so I hope you enjoy. Oh-this is also an experimentation in first-person POV writing-sorry if it isn't your style! Henceforth, let it be known: 'I do not own the Avengers, Marvel, etc. etc. etc."**

CH 1. Her mother named her...

Sarah Rogers was the only parent I really had ever known. I still don't know how she did it, between being a nurse at the hospital, caretaker of a frail son, the sole breadwinner and a mother during the depression. I could see the life wear her out. Then there would be times where I could see her come to life: when she played the piano, when she sang Irish lullabies, when she cuddled me in her arms with a good book. I would look into her eyes and see astounding will and love. She lived this life for me, so that I could live.

I never truly understood her sacrifice, until the day I found myself following her footsteps. There are a lot of single parents out there trying to find the line between work and family. It's bad enough to work full time, but then there's the constant travel, the danger of my job, and the fact that she will always be in the line of fire-especially now, now that everyone knows I have a daughter. How can I be both the superhero and the super dad? One night I'm knocking the teeth out of some power-crazed megalomaniac and the next I'm rubbing rum on a teething infant's gums, praying that she will finally stop crying, because I can't stand to see her baby blue eyes full of tears. I'm the guy everyone expects the answers from, the guy everyone counts on to prove that anything is possible with a can-do attitude and some good old fashioned work ethic. But I don't think I can do this. We've only just lost her mother-I can't lose her too. But I have to do it, because I love her too dearly. I'll put on tights, I'll carry my shield and I'll fight whatever comes to this Earth, and then I'll go home, change the diapers, read a bedtime story, and maybe get her to sleep for an entire three hours. I'll do whatever it takes to give her the life she deserves.

I'm sorry. Let me start over.

I am Captain America and my life changed exactly 10 months and three days ago. Evelyn Sarah Rogers was born at 3:21 am at 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches. Her mother named her Evelyn. I nick-named her Evy. I tell you, I never felt so happy and scared the first time I held that precious, bread-loaf sized being in my arms. My whole world was wrapped up in a pink blanket and thrust into my arms. I promised her right then and there that I'd take care of her always.


	2. Purple Hearts

Ch. 2: Purple Hearts

She's purple, and I don't mean slightly red in the face, kinda tinged purple. I mean my daughter's face resembled a red plum a little too much for my liking. She hasn't stopped crying for the last six hours! Six hours of non-stop, pitiful wailing! Nothing has helped! I tried rocking her, walking with her, swaddling, feeding, burping, changing diapers, and talking to her no matter what, it doesn't seem to matter!  
I thought something was seriously wrong, that she had to be in pain to be crying for that long. So at 11:00 pm I wrapped her in her receiving blanket and rode the elevator down to the lower level laboratories, hoping that I hadn't missed Bruce. I guess I should've knocked or asked Jarvis to locate Bruce, but I was desperate and strolled through the doors without a thought! Even though Evy had been pretty quiet (considering the earlier ear-drum rupturing screams) during the elevator ride, the moment the glass doors opened, we greeted the sleeping Iron Man with a God-awful screech. Of course, Tony didn't help, crying out obscenities from the floor-teaches him to sleep on the lab stools.

Since the day we brought Evy home from the hospital, all the Avengers seemed to fall in love with her with the exception of the playboy-billionaire-philanthropist. He avoided Evy, constantly referring to her as 'that' or 'it'. It was never a problem before. The tower was large, and outside of just general interactions in the common areas, the two were never around each other. But the few times Tony has been around my daughter were not pleasant; so her sudden wake up call in his private sanctum was bound to cause trouble.  
"Why is _that _in my lab?" He gestured to my little bundle.  
"Where's Bruce?" I ignored his question, irritated that he just referred to my daughter as a thing.  
"On the helicarrier." Evy screamed louder. "God cap. Can't you burp or change her or something?"  
"I've tried everything. ' ."  
"Two words. Duct. Tape." Evy stopped howling, sniffled and hiccupped-pretty darn adorably. "See?"  
The silence lasted for two whole minutes-just enough time for me to tell Tony off, for Tony to gloat about 'shutting the kid up', and for Evy to decide that not enough attention had been paid to her. She let loose a howl that even startled Stark's robots from their duties. One rolled its way over, raising its claw toward the infant like a dog would curiously tilt its head. After conveying to Tony that this had nothing to do with me taking revenge on Tony for the bagel incident (it's best not to ask), he finally decided that Jarvis should do a full medical scan.

Is it horrible of me to want something to be wrong? That her crying had nothing to do with me being a lousy parent, but an invisible pain she just didn't have the words to communicate? Something that Jarvis could detect and that we could fight with medicine or a warm blanket and her stuffed tucan? The scan showed nothing out of the normal-if anything Evy was an extremely healthy, vocal little girl. Without Tony's consent I collapsed in a nearby swivel chair, daughter in one arm, fire extinguisher in the other (the robot gave it to me, I'm not sure why). It took a few minutes to realize that she had stopped crying. Looking down to the bundle, I saw her bright blue eyes, gazing at the ceiling. Following her line of sight I realized that a holographic sphere was floating above our heads. It bounced its way across an invisible path above us, mesmerizing my little girl. When the ball stopped bouncing or it was no longer in her sight, she would give a warning whimper. The ball soon morphed into a 7 point star that danced around her head. She reached her little hand out of the blankets trying to touch it. I just watched her. There have been so few times that I could actually just sit and watch her-see her bright eyes filled with wonder and discovery. I guess I was so engrossed in watching my daughter find her way in this new, technologically overwhelming world, that I didn't sense Tony approach me.  
"It's called the purple cycle."  
"What?" Startled I look to the weary engineer.  
"Babies have a normal period of development called the purple period of crying. Usually nothing is wrong. They're just learning how to interact with the world."  
"And they couldn't be quieter about it. Is that why she's so purple?"  
"Partially. Purple is also an acronym for the symptoms of the cycle," he knelt down so that he was eye-level with Evy, tapping her heart and speaking to her. "But it's all right. You'll be okay. You're not hurt, are you? No purple hearts for you." Evy grabbed his pointer finger, and I swear that she shook it. And for the first time, since Evy arrived at the tower, the little girl and the billionaire made a truce.

I don't know how Tony knew what the cycle was or for that matter how he was right. It doesn't matter. That night, I saw a part of Iron Man that I never expected. He's denied it to Pepper and anyone else who has asked him about the incident, but I won't forget the look on his face when she held his single finger in the palm of her hand. The same wonder I saw on my daughter's face could be seen on the stoic and nonchalant man.


	3. Sick Day

Ch 3: Chicken Soup for Soul

I am currently sitting in between two very unhappy women. One is barely a year old, the other could probably kill me with the tube of ointment she's holding. Both are glaring at me out of misery. I feel awful. I knew that eventually Evy would have chickenpox, so I was prepared to handle the grumbling baby. I had no idea that one of our resident assassins had never gotten the disease and wasn't immune to it. I'll never forget the look on Natasha's face when Bruce asked her, as she held my sick little girl, if she was immune to chicken pox. It's that one moment where you don't even comprehend the possibility that you are susceptible to disease and then that sudden realization hits that a childhood ailment could come back with a vengeance. Well no sooner then Bruce had mentioned it, Nat showed him the rash that had been bothering her since that morning: shingles.

I still feel awful and guilty. Before Evy was born, I had studied all the parenting books, so I knew how dangerous it was for a non-immune adult to be around a child with chickenpox. I just never expected Natasha, the Black Widow, to be taken down by something as commonplace as chickenpox. I was willing to try everything to make it up to her.

So when the team was called out on a cursory mission, guess who stayed behind to take care of them both?  
"I don't want that." She told me with a look of pure malice as I entered the room with a bowl of chicken noodle soup.  
"Now, Natasha," I guess I reverted back to the same fatherly tone I use with Evy. "You need to eat if you're going to feel better." She actually took the bowl and dumped it in the trashcan next to her.  
"I refuse to eat, speak about, or watch anything that pertains to 'chicken', do you understand Rogers?" If she was using my last name only, that couldn't be a good sign. As if on cue, Evy gave an indignant cry and threw her teething ring on the ground. Of all the role models my daughter could imitate, did it have to be a deadly assassin with a grudge?  
"That's right дорогой." The sick woman shuffled over to the play pin and picked up the baby. "Not all of us have a serum-enhanced immune systems." As she started to walk away with Evy, I tried to intervene-they really should rest!  
"Knock it off Rogers. We're miserable, not dying, and right now we're going to watch Anastasia, do you have a problem with that?" I shook my head violently.

And so I sat on the corner of the couch as the two cuddled up to watch a show that the assassin couldn't stand, unless it was for the sake of her sick godchild. Sometime between the weird villain song and the Paris number, the two had drifted off into a well-needed sleep. Covering them with a soft blanket and giving Evy a soft kiss on her beautiful head, I let them rest. Two days later, Thor joined the group, but he chose to eat the soup I made heartily.


	4. Communication

AN: Thank you for the lovely reviews! There will be several more chapters at least and each will feature at least one of the other Avengers and their unique connection with Evy. Now for our Hawkeye fans...

Ch. 4: Communication

"Shouldn't she be talking?" I turned to my left to see the resident archer sit down cross-legged on the carpet next to us. I had been talking to Evy as she crawled on the floor in her yellow onesie, grabbing the multicolored blocks.  
In the back of my mind, I knew something was wrong, nothing I said seemed to register to her, not even her name. It started shortly after her mother went missing. Beforehand, Evy was a bright and bubbly baby constantly making noises and gestures. Her mother would talk to her, getting Evy to respond in excited gurgles and pointed cries. Our apartment was hardly ever quiet during the day, but I didn't mind the noise, it was warm and comforting. Now everything is quiet and my daughter unresponsive.  
"She was starting to, just before-" I couldn't finish the sentence and luckily didn't need to. Clint caught on and didn't say another word. Instead he grabbed the blocks and began helping Evy build a tower. The 'tower' had gotten pretty high, in comparison to my daughter's height. Clint abruptly stood up.  
"I'll be right back," as the archer ran off, I just watched Evy look at me in confusion.  
"It's all right sweetheart. He'll come back and play with you." She crawled away from the block tower and began playing with her stuffed tucan, 'cookie', making it fly through the air. When Clint returned with a plastic box, I gave him a questioning look. Evy crawled toward the box and curiously peered up as he removed the lid. He reached into the box and pulled out a Captain America figurine.  
"Do you know who this is?" he asked her. "This is your dad." He pointed to me. Evy turned her head, her eyes locking with me and then back to the toy.  
"Uh, Clint, action figures and infants don't mix."  
"Don't worry, cap. I won't let anything happen." He drew out another action figure, this one a complete replica of himself in a purple costume that I had never seen him wear before. I raised my eyebrow questioningly at the man, who just smiled and gave a shrug.  
"And this is me," he pointed to himself. "I don't wear this much purple, but we just won't tell the comic book company that." He set the 'Hawkeye' character next to Captain America. Next came Iron Man, then Thor, then the Hulk, and the Black Widow. Each figurine was placed at the base of the block tower. Evy shyly observed, choosing not to touch the figurines just yet.  
"And, last, but not the least," he dug into his pocket and pulled out a small wooden worry doll, swaddled in a yellow blanket. "This is you." He poked her in the stomach. He set the wooden doll next to the rest of the Avengers.  
"We all live here," Clint gestured to the tower. " And even though we don't look it, we are a family." He pushed the figurines closer together. "We fight together and sometimes each other. We take care of each other, and sometimes we break the tower-Iron Man doesn't like it when we do that." For dramatic effect, he knocked one of the blocks off and had Iron Man grumblingly fly the block back up.  
"But no matter what happens, we protect each other-especially you." He put the doll on the edge of the one of the blocks. Evy watched quietly, and then crept toward the tower. She grabbed the wooden doll off the top and held it.  
"That's you." Her eyes darted back up to Clint. She then crawled over to me, sat in my lap and showed me the doll.  
"Is that you?" She held the doll higher for me to see. "Yes, that's my Evy."  
"Evy, where's your dad?" Clint asked. Evy snuggled closely to me at first, but then leaned out to grab the Captain America figure. "What about your uncle Clint? Where is he?" Evy touched the purple figurine, but then grabbed the Hulk, and happily showed the figurines to me.  
"Hey!" Clint exclaimed. "That's not me! I'm much better looking than the Hulk." No matter what Clint tried to do, Evy was convinced that 'Uncle Clint' was the large, angry looking figurine. As he slumped down in defeat, Evy crawled over, grabbed his finger and handed him the Hulk.  
"Is this me?" She squeezed his finger and crawled off. "Great..."  
"So," I started "You collect action figures?"  
"Not exactly, Tony sort of bought them awhile back..."  
"And the doll?" Clint cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the baby who was trying to put each of the Avengers on the tower. I looked closer at the doll in my hand and took notice of the beautiful craftsmanship. I had seen similar designs in Bohemian handicrafts. Smiling, I pocketed the doll-I'd make sure it was returned before Natasha realized it was missing.


	5. Breakfast Club

Ch. 5: Breakfast Club

It was a beautiful Sunday and being the only two beings in the entire tower, I decided take Evy out to the park. We got there pretty early ensuring a quiet morning just for the two of us. Unbuckling her from her stroller and buttoning up her fleece jacket I took Evy out for a short stroll around the play area. She was already starting to walk, and I couldn't help but feel particularly proud when I saw her stomp onto the ground in her new little boots. I can't help it-I fall for her every time. Gurgling happily she took off on the pavement, with me closely following behind. She made a bee-line for a sandbox and with two happy squeals tried to hoist herself over the wooden ledge.  
"Evy," I picked her up. "You'll get your clothes dirty." As I pulled her away, I heard the sounds of running footsteps and then whoops of delight as three small bodies ran past me, hurling themselves into the sandbox.  
"Sam, Pete, Jonah, come over here right now!" I turned to my side to see we were no longer alone at the park. Instead there appeared to be a small group of mothers with their children settling down on the bench behind us. The scolding voice belonged to a thin, redhead, who strolled right up next to me.  
"I'm sorry," she told me and then turned to the boys. "You three could've have hurt yourselves or this man and his little girl, running like raving lunatics. Now what do you say?" The three boys, who could not have been more than 4 years old, mumbled what sounded like apologies. The lady looked back to me.  
"Sorry about that, they get a little over-excited when they're all together," she warmly smiled. "My name is Heather, is that your daughter?"  
"Yes," I turned my baby girl to face the woman. "This is Evelyn, or Evy, and I'm Steve." He held out his hand to shake, but the woman was completely absorbed in Evy.  
"Oh my goodness what a sweetheart!" she cooed. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to having little girls around." She gestured to two of the boys. "Those two are mine, Samuel and Peter. We've been trying for a girl for sometime, but maybe we got lucky." I realized, somewhat embarrassedly, that the woman was holding her slightly rotund stomach rather affectionately. I was about to congratulate her, but Heather just continued on.  
"You know I have to tell you, it is so great to see a dad out and about with his little one. I don't care about the stereotypes. It's great for a father to be involved in their child's life."  
"If there is one," a voice spoke from behind. Two additional women approached the sandbox, each holding the hand of a little boy.  
"Yeah Heather, I think you meant it is great to have _both_ parents involved in their child's life." Heather rolled her eyes at the newcomers.  
"Sorry," she finally said. "Jess, Marnie, this is Steve and his daughter Evy. They were almost victims of a sandbox dive."  
"Hi Steve, nice to meet you," the tall blonde in plaid spoke. "This is my partner Marnie, and this is our son Neal."  
"Partner?" I asked, not entirely sure of she meant.  
"Yeah, you know 'love unconditionally til death do us part?'" I starred blankly and then it hit me like a freight train. I began stammering apologies, trying not to revert to my 1940's social attitude. I had learned about these relationships not too long after I woke up. Tony had ended the grand tour of the newly renovated tower on the first floor lobby where a group of reporters were waiting like a pack of hungry wolves. I had some experience with the media before so we thought we'd be prepared to answer any of their questions...until one asked me whether or not I shipped stony. I thought they had said Tony, so I explained that sometimes I did want to ship him off in a crate, but the most important thing is to create a strong team dynamic. There was a good solid two minutes of silence, before Tony slapped me on the back and replied "and that's why I love him." I was ticked when I finally figured out what 'shipping stony' really meant-Tony had to go into hiding from me for a week when our picture graced the Daily Bugle with the headline 'Why he loves him: Stark tells all.'  
Any who Jess and Marnie seemed more amused at my awkwardness than anything, laughing hardily.  
"It's okay, the missus and I," Jess winked. "Are not your average couple." I laughed mostly out of embarrassment.  
"Oh, stop it. Can't you see you're making him feel out of sorts?" Marnie playfully smacked Jess.  
"No, no, no. I-I'm...I'm not making a good first impression," I tried to cover.  
"It's okay Steve. We're pretty sure you're not a bad guy. But you look freakin' hilarious when you're embarrassed." I smiled and nodded, deciding it was time to change the subject.  
"So, is Jonah your son as well?"  
"Oh, no. Jonah is Marilyn's boy," Jess pointed over to the bench where two other women set. The older of the two waved.  
"Steve, what do you do for a living." Leader of a group of superheroes and freelance agent for a secret government agency was probably not the best answer; so I opted for the more frequently used cover.  
"I'm actually retired. I used to be a captain in the army."  
"Well that is really interesting. Marilyn's husband is a sergeant. Come on, she would love to meet you," Heather began to shoo me in the direction of the bench.  
"Heather, we're going to stay here and help Neal build a sand castle." We left the couple and the four young boys in the flurry of sand.  
"Mary, Libby!" I was starting to get very confused at this point. I had never met this many women at once outside of the raging fan girl groups that tended to appear after every mission. Suddenly, my simple Sunday outing was getting less relaxing.  
"Mary, this is Steve and his daughter Evelyn. Steve was a captain in the army." The older woman shook Steve's hand while the younger Libby just stared on. Mary gave the other woman a quick, meaningful shove in the ribs.  
"I'm Libby, nice to meetcha!" she snapped out of her ogling.  
"Hello," I replied.  
"Here, why don't we make some room for you on the bench? Scoot over Libby!" I sat down between the three women as they watched Marnie and Jess conduct a 'raid' on the sand castles.  
"So...do you all know each other?" I asked.  
"Yes, we're old college buddies."  
"Except for me!" Libby called.  
"Except for Libby. She's my baby sis." Mary gave her a hug as the younger woman flailed.  
"We try to get together every Sunday to spend some quality time with the kiddos, you know? Build interpersonal skills with other children their age through scheduled outings and extracurricular." Heather nodded.  
"Our sons are actually starting a peewee league this summer." I nodded taking in as much as I could.  
"But enough about us. Who's this?" Mary pointed at Evy, who was beginning to get slightly agitated at the lack of playground time.  
"Evelyn. Or Evy."  
"Evy," Mary repeated. "Such a pretty name for a pretty little girl. Does she get her red hair from her mother?"  
"Somewhat," I said stiffly. It was hard for me-it has been hard for me to talk about Evy's mother. Every time I look at Evy I see her mother looking at me. She has my eyes, but the rest was all her mother. The dark red hair was from my family, but the curls were all her mother. As she grew, as she became more expressive, I could see similar mannerisms, the same smile-the same scrunched up nose when she laughed. I must have visibly appeared shaken because a small hand soon touched my shoulder. Mary watched me intently.  
"I am sorry," Mary said. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories." I shook my head, blinking the tears from my eyes.  
"She's missing-she was out on a mission and then disappeared," I felt myself blurt out those words. I'll never forget that phone call. We had known for a long time that this was a possibility-we had even written each other letters. I haven't read her final letter to me. I refuse to. Deep inside there was still hope that I would still find her; in the meantime I would take care of our daughter.  
Mary's hand tightened on my shoulder.  
"Hey Libby? Would you mind checking on Jonah?" Libby nodded and left the two. Once Libby was out of earshot, Mary spoke again.  
"We can't give up on them Steve," she explained. "My husband James. He's a sergeant in the army. He has been deployed now for 6 months. I'm not sure where he is, too classified, but I know from his letters that it is dangerous. If I'm lucky, they get into area where he can skype me and Jonah, but then we can go days at a time not seeing him. Those are the days I hate the most. I wait hoping that I can hear from him before I hear from anyone else." Steve held his little girl closer to him.  
"If there is anything you need, let me know," Mary explained. "In matter of fact, why don't you join us for lunch now? After Sunday park trips we usually take the kids to this really yummy brunch-place."  
"I don't know," Steve began.  
"It's okay. But just know that we're," she gestured to the women now congregating at the sandbox "all experiencing things that we can't always handle. It's nice to have a few hours with people who don't care about your baggage."  
Evy grabbed the collar of my jacket and looked up into my eyes. I realized that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to have some lunch. So I agreed and followed five women to the 'Breakfast Club' and continued to every Sunday morning thereafter. What can I say, the coffee was amazing.


	6. Sweet Dreams

AN: Wow guys, thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favs. I have a personal favorite coming up for this chapter.

Ch. 6: Sweet dreams

My sweet little girl can't sleep. I didn't think she had been crying too loud until the door to our apartment opened and Bruce strolled in with Clint and Tony in tow. I snapped out of my stupor, Cookie falling out of my arms. I attempted to scramble to pick up the litter of toys, blankets, and baby bottles that were scattered around my half-clothed self. Bruce gestured for me to wait.  
"Okay, I'm going," Tony turned to walk away, but two arms grabbed each shoulder and held him in place.  
"Bum," Bruce spoke in his deep voice.  
"Uh, bum?" I asked. Bruce sighed and looked over at the other two men.  
"Oh," Clint exclaimed. He cleared his throat.  
"Bum," Bruce started again.  
"Bum, bum, bum," Clint followed suit. There was pause until Tony shook his head and approached Evy.  
"Only for you kid," he explained. "Bum, bum, bum, bum."  
"Bum," Bruce spoke again. Then I realized that they were actually singing the word.  
"Bum, bum."  
"Bum, bum!"  
"Bum."  
"Bum, bum, bum."  
"Bum, bum, bum, bum!"  
"Bum."  
"Bum, bum!"  
"Bum, bum!"  
"Mr. Sandman! Bring me a dream, make him the cutest that I've ever seen. Give him two lips like roses and clover! Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over!" I'm not entirely sure who was more shocked, myself or Evy as we watched the trio of Avengers turn barber shop. All we were missing was the fourth singer of the quartet, but that wasn't a problem for too long.  
"Mr. Sandman!"  
"Yes?" out of nowhere Thor's deep voice bellowed through the hall.  
"I'm so alone! Don't have nobody to call my own so please turn on your magic beam! Mr. Sandman, bring us a dream!" I thought the song had ended, but...  
"Missus Evy, please go to sleep! We'd like a night where we can all dream!" sang Clint.  
"So we are here to sing you asleep. Now close your eyes and count those sheep!" bellowed Tony.  
"Missus Evy, you are too sweet, to let the sandman not bring you dreams," Bruce finished.  
"So please curl up and go to sleep! We love you our sweet Evy!"  
"Yes?" the disembodied voice of Thor manifested into the thunder god himself, fully dressed and munching on pop tarts.  
"Are we singing?" he inquired. I couldn't help but start laughing at the confused Thor. I stopped short when I saw her little eyes flutter, trying to keep open.  
"She's almost asleep. You actually sang her to sleep."  
"Well of course," Tony rolled his eyes. "We're the Avengers. We can handle anything."  
"Were we singing lullabies?" Thor asked, still perplexed at the random events. I just smiled, mouthed a thank you and carried the now sleeping Evy to her nursery. As I lay her in the basinet, she began to fuss.  
"No, no, no," I hushed her gently. "Why don't we sing our lullaby?"  
"Somewhere over the rainbow," I sang softly. "Blue birds fly, they fly over the rainbow, why, oh why can't I? Someday I wish upon a star to wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops, oh way above the chimney tops that where you'll find me." Tucking her 'Cookie' and her blanket right next to her. " When happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can't I?"


	7. In-House day care

Ch. 7: In-House day care.

"Captain, do we look like a daycare?" I had just strolled into the director's office, fully clothed for battle with Dr. Doom's latest wave of doom bots, toting my shield on my back and my daughter on the front.  
"Nick, I can't leave her in the tower. It's not safe."  
"You're sure as hell not taking her into battle with you."  
The director sighed and leaned forward in his chair. I already knew what he wanted to say. Since Evelyn was born, and even more now that her mother is missing, Nick has tried to convince me to send Evy away to be raised by a more 'normal' family. Maybe he's right, but I won't let her go. Because of her mother's and my reputation, Evy will always be in danger-the enemies we have made will undoubtedly find her, even if I did ship her off to some boarding school or obscure safe house. I feel better knowing that I will be there when they do come for her. Maybe it's unfair-it's probably selfish, but I will not give up my daughter-not without a fight.  
"Look," I told him "she doesn't need much. All of her supplies are in this bag. It's almost her bedtime. All someone needs to do, is put her to bed and keep an eye on her. I expect to return well before dawn, and I'm sure your agents can handle a 13 month old." The director wasn't convinced.  
"Steve how much longer are you going to do this?" He continued "I've never seen you this exhausted."  
"I feel fine, but I would feel better knowing that Evy is safe on the helicarrier."  
"What about how Evy feels? How 'fine' do you think she's going to be growing up with a half of a parent? We could watch her this time, but what about the rest of her life? I know you're Mr. '110 percent' guy, but you're going to have to compromise sometime and what are you going to give up? Your shield? Your daughter?" I was tired, shocked, and finally, fed up with these conversations. Straightening my slightly slumped frame and covering my daughter's ears, I decided to answer his question directly.  
"Listen up, Fury. I am sure that one day I am going to make a decision that we will all regret, but since I've signed on with your initiative I have never failed to uphold my promise to protect this country. I have done every mission, every objective, and every request asked of me. I have sacrificed countless years of my life I will never get back. I'm not asking for much in return-just to keep my daughter safe while I go out and continue to uphold that promise _and_ clean up after the mess your damn council seems to leave every time they have one of their brilliant ideas to team up with an internationally known psychopath. I think I deserve that much. I have never asked you for anything, but I am telling you I will do my job as long as I am needed and in return we're never going to have this conversation again. Now where do I set up her play pin? It's almost 8:00 and I'd like to make sure she's tucked in before I leave." The director starred at me, and slowly picked up athe phone.  
"Hill, let Lareby know that we have an assignment for him, and they will be waiting for him in the rec room." The director looked up at me, and nodded as I turned to leave.  
"Steve," he called after me. "Things can't keep going the way they are. Something's got to change."  
"I know," I replied without turning around.  
"This is a one-time deal. You know that right?"  
"I'm not asking for anything else."

When I picked Evy up, nothing seemed out of sorts. Sure the agents looked tired, but I figured that was in part due to the recent doom bot invasion. It was only until Phil showed me the 'mission report,' that I had some insight into my daughter's sleep-over on the carrier.

Strategic Homeland Intervention and Enforcement Logistics Division  
S.H.I.E.L.D

Mission Status: Complete  
Agent: Lareby, Carson  
Serial No.: 105587634

M.O. (Mission Objective)- Safe guard subject until retrieval initiated. Follow protocol and procedures left by superior.  
Subject: 24 inches, 20 pounds, dark hair, blue eyes, 13 months. Blue onesie with koala bear. Note: drools excessively.  
Consort: 6 inch, 4 ounces, multi-colored toucan, stuffed. Note: under no circumstance should companion be removed from subject's presence.

20:00- subject refuses to remain in assigned resting area. Initiated protocol bullet number 2. Swaddling/Cuddling ineffective.  
20:30- subject requires sustenance. Food Services not stocked with distilled water. Attempted to administer mashed peas. Peas used as projectile objects. Subject exhibits extraordinary aim.  
20:35: Required short leave to clean utensils and shirt of regurgitated peas. subject was confined to appropriate recreation area with needed resources. Monitor and speakers turned on. Subject appeared to be distracted with consort.  
20:37: Initiated lock-down of rec room-alerted code pink. Subject no longer in recreation area.  
20:40: No sign of subject or consort in the area. Recruited agents Morrison and Crew for search and rescue.  
20:45: Subject not found. Director alerted of possible abduction.  
20:50: Director calls alert. All agents abroad are to search for subject. Director issues ultimatum. (a note was attached to the paperwork as a transcription of Lareby's correspondence with Fury. It read: You mean to tell me that you not only lost an infant in a play pin, but you lost the daughter of a national fucking icon and you want to know whether or not we should sound an alert? Is this a joke, Lareby-Raise the alarm and find her now!)  
21:00: Subject found asleep behind chair in rec room. Full-medical scans show no physical harm. *Review of security footage show subject leaving play pin and rummaging through cupboards. Subject did not leave rec room.*  
22:00: Morrison and Crew recruited to further observe target. Additional support was expressively dismissed by lead agent. Lead agent circumvented by director.  
23:00: Subject awake. Subject required relief protocol. Lead agent assigned task to agent Crew.  
23:02: Agent Crew compromised. Lead agent sent Crew to infirmary for further recovery. Subject finally relieved of soiled attire.  
24:00: Subject unwilling to return to sleep. Subject expressing resent for agents. Director contacted lead agent for update. (Transcription: For god's sake, Lareby. I can hear her on the other side of the helicarrier! Deal it with before her father gets back and kicks your ass!)  
1:00: Subject still awake. Agent Morrison suggests distraction. Utilizing rec room coffee utensils to create three puppets. Subject amused by dolls.  
1:15: Dolls insufficiently made. Subject unhappy-very unhappy.  
1:30: Agent Coulson relieved agent Morrison. Agent Coulson calms target.  
1:45: Subject asleep in agent Coulson's arms.  
4:00: Subject retrieved by superior.

Concluding comments: It is by my best recommendation that I am no longer fit for field assignments and respectfully request a transfer to informational services.

There were something off about the report and it wasn't that they made babysitting my daughter appear like a complex military operation. She wasn't wearing a blue onesie with a koala. It was a teal onesie with a panda bear...there is a difference.


	8. Not all of us run on batteries

Ch. 9: "Not everyone runs on batteries."

There are many things I wish I would have asked Dr. Erskine. He wanted me to be more than just a good soldier, he wanted me to be a good man. I wonder if he ever expected me to be more than either of those-if he ever imagined if I would be a father. Maybe we would have discussed the possibility of the serum's effect on my genetics-on the genetics of my future daughter.  
She was oddly quiet that morning, and she refused to eat her favorite breakfast, mashed bananas. Suddenly she started coughing-I thought she was choking because of the whimpers and pained noises. When she stopped making noises- I panicked. I could feel her short, rapid breaths.  
I scooped her up out of the high chair.  
"Jarvis!" I called to the ceiling. "I need help, now!"  
"Already on the way sir." Thirty seconds later the door opened and Bruce hurried in with stethoscope in hand.  
"Steve, support her neck," Bruce brought his hand across her back, trying to dislodge any object. When that didn't seem to work, Bruce turned to the AI.  
"What are her oxygen levels Jarvis?" I looked down to see her lips tinged blue.  
"85 percent and dropping. Her heartbeat is also erratic sir." Bruce turned to me.  
"Cap, she needs to be in a hospital, Jarvis call an ambulance."  
"No," I stood up grabbing Evy in my arms. "That's too slow." Bruce followed me out of the apartment and to the stairwell. I jumped over the railing and to the ground floor as the doctor tried to hurry down the steps. He stopped and called out instead:  
"I'll call ahead and let the hospital know!" I entered the hanger half at a run. Natasha and Clint were standing by the quinjet.  
"Get out of the way," I commanded. Neither of the assassins said anything, it took only one look at Evy's pale face to see that something was seriously wrong. The two dropped what they were doing and followed after me.  
"Cap, I'll fly, you hold Evy." Natasha ran in front of me and into the pilot's seat, Clint next to her.  
We landed on the helipad of the hospital. We were greeted with a gurney and a team of doctors and nurses. I leapt out of my seat and out of the jet. They grabbed Evy from me, rolling her on the small gurney into the hospital. I could hear snippets of their conversation.  
"We've got a 13 month old with difficult breathing, oxygen," the nurse checked a small machine they had placed on her finger. "Levels at 73 percent. Windpipe is clear. We might need to intubate, we're headed to PICU now." I had little idea of what they were talking about. A hand grabbed my shoulder and held me back.  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Rogers? We need to know a little more about your daughter. Is she allergic to anything?"  
"No," I stammered looking over the doctor to see them rush the gurney into the elevator.  
"Do you have any family history of breathing difficulty."  
"Asthma," I answered trying to follow after them.  
"Mr. Rogers, wait, can you tell me a little bit more about what happened."  
"We were going to have breakfast, but she wouldn't eat anything, and then she started coughing and her lips were turning blue." I watched the elevator doors shut.  
"Mr. Rogers, I need you to focus," the nurse stepped in front of him. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"  
"No. Where are they taking her?"  
"PICU. Are you sure, any detail could be helpful."  
"I'm sorry, I need to get to her."  
"Sir, we can't let you in the room just yet, not until we are sure she is stable." I heard someone come up behind me.  
"Where is the PICU?" Natasha asked the nurse.  
"I'm sorry, but," Natasha stood in front of me. I could only see Natasha's back, but the nurse's expression told all. "Fourth floor, east wing."  
"Thank you," Natasha replied curtly, leading Clint and I to the set of elevators.

Enlarged heart. That is what they're calling it. Shortly after they arrived, Evy's blood pressure dropped. She coded, but was revived. When they finally stabilized her, they began a battery of tests. She coded again, and made it through a second turn of frantic events. They told me that this is a sign of undiagnosed congenital heart failure. All I could hear was the last two words, their shock value lasting long into the evening. I am sitting by the case they have put her in to prevent infection. It's dark in the room, and the only light is coming from a wide-range of monitors that surround me. There's a soft knock at the door and I look up to see Bruce enter. He sits in the chair next to me.  
"Do we know what caused it?" I asked.  
"Nothing's conclusive yet, but we think it's genetics-based."  
"So my genes, my serum-enhanced genes," I looked away.  
"It's possible that it isn't the serum," Bruce tried to intervene, but his rebuff fell short when saw the expression on my face. "But it is the most likely. The serum seems to have effected only the cardiac muscle. It's working 3 times harder than a normal infant's."  
"Why hasn't this been a problem with me?"  
"Well it might be in the future, but cap, your heart is fully developed and has been fully exposed to serum. Evy's heart only has traces of the serum-just enough to cause trouble for her developing heart." I shifted on my seat.  
"I should have seen this," I told him. "She cried so much and so often."  
"No Steve, you couldn't have. She was crying because she's a baby. These kind of heart things take some time before it becomes problem."  
"I should have had her checked-"I interrupted. "I should have questioned-"  
"Captain," he turned me to face him. "You didn't know. We didn't know. We can't change that. This isn't your fault." I know Bruce was right. I was the only recipient of the serum and honestly I don't think anyone imagined I would live long enough to even consider passing it down. Still, I couldn't believe Bruce entirely, not with all the wires and tubes running out of Evy just to keep her alive. She counted on me. She depended on me, and I failed. I was just as helpless as she was. I guess Captain America was never meant to take down an enlarged heart.

Bruce left me to my thoughts. Decisions would have to be made soon about the next steps, but the options weren't promising. So I sat by her all night in the dark room and waited for something to change-for some hail Mary.  
"How's the kid doing?" I looked up. It was Tony.  
"They've cooled her body temperature-it makes her heart work less," I recited the doctor's explanations numbly. Tony took a seat next to me; he inserted his hand into the grey glove of the glass cased and touched her outspread palm. It reflexively closed around his finger.  
"Brucie said her heart is trying to power the body of a super soldier." I didn't answer. He addressed my sleeping baby.  
"You know, your uncle Tony," he told her "His heart used to power a lot of super things, like my super, cooler-than-a-super-soldier, iron man suit. But now I just use the arc reactor. I decided to fix my heart. That's what I do. I fix things. I fixed your auntie Pepper too. And you know what? I'm going to fix your heart too." My head jolted up at that final thought.  
"There's a chance, Steve," he continued eyes still on Evy. "Jarvis and I have spent all yesterday and last night running these genetic sequences and we're pretty sure we know which is responsible. We have a targeted gene-repressor therapy lined up for her, and a way to slow down her heart. She'll never be a super-soldier and we'll have to watch her blood pressure, but..." he trailed off. It took a few moments for me to realize what he was saying.  
"Tony," I finally spoke up. "What do we need to do?"

Tony definitely has an odd sense of humor. The surgery to install it went without a hitch and now it resides just below her left shoulder. It's shaped like my shield and even has a star cut-out in the middle that glows. Tony assured me that it was completely safe and the most advanced of stark medical tech there was, he should know-he personally made it himself. The pacemaker would monitor and slow the contractions of the heart. If the rhythms seemed out of sync or peculiar, Jarvis, Tony, and myself would be notified immediately as a minute-sized jolt of electricity would set it right. She'll start the gene therapy in a month or two, when she is more stable. In the meantime, after almost a month of being in the hospital, they're letting me take her home. They weren't going to at first, but between Natasha, Bruce, and Tony, they eventually agreed to send her home. She's now in my arms, swaddled in a blanket with her toucan, sleeping peacefully. There aren't any lights on at the moment and I can see the faintest of glow beneath the blanket. It's not as eerie as I thought it would be-it's sort of comforting.

Right now, I'm not worried-I'll take care of her just as my mother did for me. So Fury won't get his second-generation super soldier, but when he stopped by to visit, he didn't seem to care about that. I'm sure that tomorrow I'll worry about her future-about her safety-about how her life is now going to be different. Then again, when your uncle is _the _Iron Man and the personal inventor of the machine that saved your life-well I think it's safe to say her life isn't going to be anything but extraordinary.

I did however tell him, this does not mean he gets to make her a suit...that's the last thing I needed.


	9. Some assembly required

Ch. 9: Some assembly required

A live toucan, a taxidermied animal, a mechanical bird with artificial intelligence, and a questionable promise from a guy named little Murry: what do these all have in common? They are the possible body doubles for 'Cookie' the toucan.

I just needed to run some errands, I told Thor it would have been for 30 minutes-45 minutes top. I couldn't take Evy into large crowds while she recovered from surgery and we needed groceries, diapers and other things. When I returned I didn't see Evy-I saw Thor, Tony, Clint, and Loki (yes, Loki-he's apparently not a bad guy anymore, but anyway back to the point). Since becoming a parent I've developed a keen sixth sense for trouble. Maybe it's like Spiderman's Spidey sense, or how Miss Clavel in Evy's favorite show always knows when the little girls were awake after curfew. I didn't know what _was _wrong, but I _knew _something was wrong. All I had to do was enter the room, see each of these men and suddenly:  
"What happened?" Each man hung their head, but it was Clint who pointed me to a charred object, slowly falling to ashes.  
"Cookie?" I questioned the little object.  
"Or what's left of him," Clint finished.  
"You killed Cookie..." I was out of words.  
"Actually we incinerated him..." I glared at Clint.  
"You killed her best friend..." The four men immediately launched into a wild explanation of a supposed quarrel that broke out shortly after Evy was put down for a nap. Some blows were exchanged, but the only causality was the stuffed toucan that had been forgotten at the table. You have to understand. Cookie has survived many things, and I have become an expert at repairing Cookie. But no amount of needle and thread, glue, duct tape, or anything else could possible resurrect the bird.  
"She can't not be with Cookie. If she wakes up to find him missing she'll have a tantrum-we can't let her heart beat too fast, not when she is already recovering."  
"Cool it Steve, all we need to do is find a store that sells stuffed toucans. How hard can it be to find a stuffed toucan?" Tony shrugged.  
Apparently Cookie wasn't your average toucan. Apparently, you can't just find him anywhere. He was a limited edition plushie of which only 200 were made.  
"We're being too picky, cap. All we need is a replacement that looks like Cookie," said Clint. Thor approached me.  
"I will fetch a fitting companion for the babe-one worthy of her favor," Thor assured me. Loki let out a long 'pfft'.  
"Are you mocking my goodwill, brother?"  
"I am merely wondering how it is that you will find a fitting companion for a child when you have had none."  
"Do you think that I am too dull to find a simple toy for a child?"  
"Not only do I think you _incompetent_, but I shall prove it, when the child chooses my gift over yours."  
"What?" I began. "No, no. We are not going to make a competition out of this. We need to stay together-"  
"Exactly," Tony interrupted. "Besides we already know which toy Evy would pick-mine of course."  
"Man of Iron, you jest," Thor laughed. "Surely you do not think that a gift from the house of Odin would be found wanting?"  
"Seriously? Do you always talk like that? What does that even mean?"  
"I would usually quip about the Midgardian standard of common tongue, but I must agree with you. Thor has ne'er mastered the skill of language. He prefers to pulverize things until his meaning is clear."  
"Perhaps I do not have your turn of phrase, silver tongue, but where your words hold no weight, mine have never been compromised."  
"We shall see then..."  
"Yeah, we'll see if you can walk the walk and talk the talk hammer time. And as for you Reindeer Games, you should leave the gift giving to the guy who makes the toys."  
The three departed (Thor flew out the window, Loki disappeared and Tony ran out the door muttering into his ear piece about the prototype for SI0024) leaving myself and Clint rather confused.  
"Don't worry Cap," he slapped my back. "I completely agree with you. We can find another Cookie if we just stick together."  
"Clint," I sat down exasperated at the chair. "I don't think we'll find a replacement Cookie in time..."  
"Sure we will. You see I wasn't being too honest about the action figures," he lowered his voice. "They're mine. I buy a lot of things off-market and online. There's this guy, little Murry..."  
"Murry?"  
"_Little_ Murry and he deals with rare toys-I might be able to make contact."  
"A black market toy trader Clint?"  
"You make it sound so illegal," he muttered as he turned to the computer and pulled out his phone. I left at that point to check on her in the nursery. She was still asleep, but it would undoubtedly not last much longer. I flashed back to when my little girl was still safe within her mother's womb. We were taking one last trip to the store to pick up the final supplies we would need to bring our soon-to-be-born child home. Her mother, despite my misgivings, wanted to keep walking, saying that she felt she needed to. We hobbled by the toy section and her mother gave out a sudden gasp. Thinking her water broke, I immediately launched into action only to be held back. _"Steve, look," she pointed to a stuffed bird. "I never thought I'd say this, but that is the most adorable toucan I've ever seen." She picked it off the shelf and read the name tag. "Tookie? That is awful. I think we should could call you...Cookie. Much better for an infant's developing speech, what do you think honey?"_ _I smiled at her. "I think Evy could use a friend." "Evy? I like that nickname."  
_I softly shut the door, hoping that she would stay asleep for just a little longer.  
"Steve, how is Evy doing?" Pepper met me at the threshold of the door. She had clearly just gotten home from all the meetings and was still dressed in her most professional demeanor.  
"All right, that is if we can solve the Cookie issue." I explained the predicament quickly. She looked irritated when I told her that three of the four responsible for the toy's demise were now competing to win the favor of my toddler.  
"Who would've thought that a toucan would be so difficult to find," I finished. She considered me thoughtfully. A loud crash rang throughout the building. Looking to Pepper pleadingly, she waved me off saying that she would watch over the nursery.  
Of all the things I expected to see crashing into Stark tower, I can honestly say I wasn't prepared for what was sitting on the table in front of a beaming thunder god. I stopped in the hallway. It was a bird, or at least it had been at one point. And technically it was stuffed-the last fearful moments of its life frozen on its face-beak ajar, eyes wide, claws at the ready.  
"Uh, Thor..."I began, unsure of how to put it delicately. "What is that?"  
"A companion. It is a stuffed animal."  
"Generally stuffed animals aren't dead, Thor."  
"Then they are truly alive?"  
"No, they were never alive to begin with..."  
"Cap, I got a message from little Murry-what the hell is that?" Clint exclaimed as he entered the room.  
"A stuffed animal for the small maiden."  
"Thor, it's dead."  
"Yes, you all have said this, I do not understand your distress."  
"Have you looked at it head-on?" The god of thunder rounded the table and stuck his neck out to stare at the bird's head directly.  
"Its head appears to be attached."  
"It look likes it died screaming in terror," I finished.  
"No-it is smiling," he looked up warmly. "Truly friends, we have many trophies like these hanging on the walls in the palace, even the nursery. It is an honor to have the symbol of a successful hunt in your home."  
"And now we could finally understand Loki..."Clint muttered. "Uh little Murry says he can come through for us, but we need to do him a small favor."  
"Such as?" I asked.  
"Nothing too big-just political asylum."  
"_Who _exactly is this little Murry?" I asked Clint.  
"The guy who is going to get us the bird."  
"Friend Barton, we have a bird," Thor gestured to the sprawled taxidermied bird on the table.  
"Are you sure you don't want me to call him back, cap?" Clint gestured to the 'happy' bird.  
"I think that it's an awful lot to trade political asylum for a toy." I turned to walk into the common room only to find that Loki had returned and was holding...a toucan.  
"Captain, you will find that I have delivered my promise. A toucan for the baby."  
"Wow, Loki. It's so..." its head turned. "alive. You brought a live toucan."  
"Of course. Would you rather it be the monstrosity currently reclining in the dining hall?"  
"W-where did you get it?"  
"He stole it from the metropolitan zoo," Tony answered coming out of the open elevator doors. "It's all over the radio-some tall guy with a weird antler-helmet appeared in the bird sanctuary."  
"Loki, Evy can't have a live toucan, it isn't safe. Furthermore, you stole it and must return it immediately." Loki was offended.  
"I do not understand. I thought that birds were fine pets for children and live animals are so much more entertaining."  
"A parakeet or a parrot perhaps, but a stolen toucan isn't a suitable pet for a 13 month-old," Loki just starred at me, clearly not comprehending my logic. "Just take it back."  
"Captain, it is far from good manners to not accept a gift."  
"Loki," I began, but was cut off by Tony.  
"The Captain is actually too polite to admit that he has had other, better offers..." Tony set a box that he must have been carrying the entire time on the coffee table. The live toucan squawked at the sudden movement.  
"Allow me to present SI0024," he removed the lid and showed me a metal bird about 4 inches tall.  
"It doesn't look very...cuddly," I admitted. Tony held his hand.  
"SI0024, say hello to your new family." The device whirled to life, spreading its wings and opening its electric blue eyes. It tilted its head.  
"Hello." It talks. The device actually talked.  
"It's been outfitted with an older version of Jarvis' artificial intelligence network. Not only will it interact with Evy, it can guard her, teach her new words and monitor heart. No more worries." I whistled, downright impressed at the advancement of technology, but also slightly unnerved.  
"Tony, this is amazing, but-"I wanted to say that she needed a friend, just a cuddly, safe, warm and huggable friend. Clint interrupted me.  
"Did you just make this?" Tony cleared his throat.  
"It's just something I had lying around..." he explained putting his hands in his pocket and pointedly avoiding eye contact.  
"Just lying around?" he looked up at my question.  
"Are these missiles?" Clint held up the wing of the bird.  
"Tony," I growled.  
"Okay, so it might have been a potential prototype for the armed forces, but it still safe-and it can survive EMP."  
"My one-year-old's stuffed animal doesn't need to be safe from EMP."  
"But now it is!"  
"It's a weapon."  
"Was a weapon. I'm no longer in the weapon's business."  
"Ahuh, you're in the toy-making business now. I guess you don't need a sled with the suit and all," Clint jabbed. "Funny though, I don't recall toys back in my time needing weapons-grade plutonium."  
"Tony, I just need a stuffed animal."  
"Well, if that's all you want then why don't you give your daughter Point Break's road kill."  
"Road kill? I do not understand," Thor said.  
"Refer to what is on my dining room table," Tony pointed behind us.  
"My gift to the sweet maiden. Verily, it is a magnanimous gift."  
"It is the left-overs of hunting hounds," Loki sneered. "At least my gift is actually alive...I can not say that in regards to your metal abomination." The mechanical bird's eyes turned red and it locked on Loki.  
"My bird can understand everything. He knows you're mocking him, and he doesn't like it." Total chaos. That is the best way to describe the next three minutes. What started out as a bird fight between the toucan and the talking bird quickly turned into a full-out war between the four supposedly grown men. It quickly turned to disaster when the fateful elevator dinged. The doors opened to reveal our amiable Dr. Banner stepping out to the devastation. There are moments in movies where everything slows down to cut time. I could see it all happen the toucan clawing at Tony, Tony crashing into Thor knocking him off his feet, Thor swinging his hammer wildly as he fell onto the table where the stuffed bird lay, the stuffed bird flying into the air hitting Hawkeye on his perch, Hawkeye's well-trained aim missing its target and his tried and true arrow hitting the mechanical bird. the mechanical bird activating self-defense on the first target it could lock on-which happened to be the good doctor, and Loki somehow in line of view of the quickly transformed Hulk. The Hulk roared, setting its eyes on the one person in the room that he could easily distinguish as smash-able. Every living, mechanical, and stuffed thing waited in anticipation to see what would happen next. In the stark silence, I could hear Evy, now fully awake, crying loudly. The Hulk lumbered toward Loki who stood at the ready for anything. He stuck out his large pointer finger and with four jabs that left each man breathless punctuated his sentence:  
"You made baby cry," Hulk bellowed. "I don't like sad baby." I stepped in between the Hulk and my teammates.  
"Enough. Hulk, I don't like it when Evy cries either. I'm also not very fond of a simple task turning into an all out war between friends. I don't care what you do at this point, but you are not going to do it in the tower. You've already frightened Evy enough for one day with all the fighting you've done. If you're going to fight you will take it outside. Hulk, if you don't mind, please escort these gentlemen and their friends out." The Hulk looked to me curiously and then gathered up all the protesting men in one swoop, and stomped away.

It took some time to calm her down; her heartbeat dangerously nearing the preset limit Jarvis had calculated for us. I held her in my arms, until at last the sobbing subsided and she had decided to continue about her day. She walked over to her blankets and I could see the look of surprise grace her face.  
"Coo-ee," she turned to me and repeated the word.  
"Evy," I sat knelt down beside her. "Cookie...Cookie..." For all of my ability and charisma I couldn't lie to her, even if that would potentially save her from harm. A knock on the door halted my conversation. Pepper strode in purposefully and sat down beside us.  
"Evy," the two red heads acknowledged each other. "Cookie had to go back to live with his family-his toucan family. He wanted to let you know though that he will always love you, and he told me that he would like you to take care of his cousin until he comes back." And what do you know, there was another Cookie, with slightly different coloring sitting on her hand.  
"Coo-ee Cos?" she tried to speak the complex word. "Coo-ee fam'ly?"  
"Yes, sweetie. Will you take good care of Cookie's cousin?"  
"Coo-ee not come back?"  
"Not for a while..." Evy took a moment to consider the options and shyly approached the strawberry blonde. My little girl took the tiny toucan and gave it a small hug.  
"Cos safe. I keep you safe." She took off with the stuffed bird and I stared at the CEO of Stark industries with profound amazement and gratitude.  
"How?" I managed to get out.  
"Let's just say that I used to go to college with someone who may have created the entire line of plushies," she winked. "It also didn't hurt when they saw that the order came from Stark Industries.

I hadn't seen my companions after the fight and decided the following morning that I needed to look into their well-being. As I left to track each of the missing members, I was accosted by the sight of five solemn individuals sitting in my living room.  
"We're sorry Cap," Clint spoke first.  
"Truly, we did not mean for more harm to come to your and your child," Thor agreed.  
"So we decided to work together to make it up to Evy someway, since we're the reason Cookie is no longer with us..."  
"Some of us are more responsible for that than the others," Loki added. "But we all share the blame equally."  
"Bruce?" I addressed the tattered scientist at the end. He looked exhausted but just nodded.  
"Don't worry Steve, the other guy and I made sure that they worked together on this."  
"On what?" I asked.  
"A suitable companion!" Thor boomed.

Evy approached it, holding Cookie's cousin in her small little arms. I was worried at the size. It was nearly five times her size! But slowly she reached out and touched its fur and with an excited squeal plopped herself onto it.  
"A giant stuffed polar bear?"  
"And it is happy," Thor concluded. I guessed it could be worse-at least it was made out of 100 percent cotton, meaning that this polar bear had never actually walked the Earth-though lord only knows where they got a stuffed animal that big. Not frightening, not alive and certainly not created for the armed forces, the polar bear joined Evy's growing menagerie. I had to hand it to them. They really pulled themselves together for the sake of a child's happiness. The four were exonerated, at least in my book, until I got a curious phone call a few days later.  
"Loki?" I asked the god reclining on the sofa in the common room. "I just got a call from the zoo keeper. Where is their toucan? I thought you said you returned it."  
"About that..." Thus the beginning of another story for another time.


	10. Puppy Dog Tales

**AN: Thank you so much for all the views and reviews. I truly appreciate it! I've been updating daily, but will probably not update again until Sunday. Just wanted to let you all know-happy weekend!**

Ch. 10 Puppy Dog Tales

Finally, after many weeks, I got the all-clear from Bruce to take Evy out into public. We were going to our first Breakfast Club outing in a very long time. When Evy was diagnosed, I could not have imagined the amount of support I would get, not just from the Avengers, but from the Breakfast Club crowd themselves. When the Avengers weren't visiting or sitting with me in the PICU, one of the members of the Breakfast Club was. Jess and Marnie made it a habit to stop by on their way to work each morning to bring me a cup of coffee. Bruce would then come it right after with a tray of breakfast urging me to eat. A little later, Heather would drop by with homemade cards from the boys, and then just as she would leave Thor or Clint would come by to keep me company until the doctors made their rounds...I found it hilarious that the two groups always seemed so in-sync but to my knowledge never actually met each other. It was for the best, the less the Breakfast Club knew about me, the better and the safer they would be. Still I appreciated their support whole-heartedly, and the first chance we got, I dressed Evy in her new sundress and we met the entire crew at our favorite Sunday haunt.  
Jess and Marnie rented the back room for all of us so that we could have a small party for Evy, away from the crowded, bustling restaurant. The boys greeted us excitedly, each of them cautiously regarding Evy's condition. I could tell that their parents had already spoken with them about what had happened, each of them being very careful around her. The biggest, Sam, engulfed her in a bear hug only to be chastised by his younger brother.  
"You're s'pose to be gentle," Peter smacked his brother's arm.  
"I know! She's frag-frag-breakable."  
I didn't even realize how much the boys understood the gravity of Evy's illness until little Neil approached me, brown eyes wide with worry. He tugged on my jacket.  
"Mr. Rogers?" He asked in whisper. "Is Evy going to be okay?"  
"Of course Neil." He pivoted back and forth on his heels, unconvinced.  
"It's getting better," I told him. "She's going to be fine, we just have to be careful while her heart is healing."  
"Because it's broken?" I smiled at the three year-old. "I can fix it!" He said suddenly. I didn't know what he meant, but watched in awe as the timid toddler approached my bubbly little girl surrounded by their peers.  
"Evy?" He asked. She stopped playing and turned to face him. He leaned forward and to all of our amazement kissed her on the cheek in front of everyone. Evy turned a deep red and ran to me while the other boys made a variety of comments.  
"Eww, you kissed a girl."  
"That was funny."  
"Mommy said we can't go and steal kisses from girls."  
"Why did you have to go and kiss her, Neil?" The smallest boy turned red as well and while looking down at his shoes finally mumbled an inaudible answer.  
"Neil?" Marnie asked. "Sweetheart, why did you kiss her?"  
"Because," he said. "Whenever you're sad and heart-broken, momma kisses you." Marnie picked him up and swung him around until he was in her embrace.  
"That's right sweetie."  
"Still," Jessie walked over to the two. "You can't just give kisses to everyone."  
"I didn't momma," he rebuffed. "I only gave one to Evy." At this point, all the parents in the room were starring at me, trying to gauge my reaction. I was mostly in shock. I didn't think I would need to approach _this_ kind of problem while she was so young.  
"Did I do something bad?" He asked and I shook my head.  
"No, Neil. You just wanted to fix her heart," I said. "But next time, you'll need to get permission from her. All right?" He nodded furiously and wriggling out of his mothers' grasps ran over to Evy who currently was hiding behind me.  
"I'm sorry Evy," he told her. She shyly looked up and smiled. The rest of the gathering, she let Neil play with Cookie's cousin, as the other boys watched jealously. I laughed inwardly. Boy was I going to be in trouble when she was older. As we started to pack up and say our farewells, Evy gave each boy a hug-although Neil's was a little longer than the others. Marnie and Jess pulled me aside, just to make sure that I was all right with what happened.  
"It's fine, really. They're just kids..."I assured them.  
"Still, if it happens again when they're older. Just promise us you won't go all 'Captain America' on our son." I stared at them dumbfounded.  
"It wasn't that hard to figure out when we ran into the Tony Stark," Jess explained. "We figured you weren't Hawkeye and you didn't seem angry enough to be the Hulk, and you seemed to fit the profile so well."  
"But your secret is safe with us," Marnie concluded. "It's safe with all of us."  
"I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about Evy," I explained. "I'm also worried about your safety."  
"Seriously, Steve?" Jess asked. "You don't need to be the lone ranger. Just because you're a superhero doesn't mean you need to worry about all of us. That's why you're part of a team. Teams, even groups like ours, we stick together-we take care of each other."  
"Let's put it this way...we'd probably already be in danger just by knowing you, but at least we have the benefit of getting to know you while we're in danger."  
I had to admit, they did have a point.


	11. The godmother

Ch.11 The godmother

It was important to both Evy's mother and I that our child had godparents. After much deliberation, we came up with the two candidates that we felt would be best: Natasha Romanov and Agent Phil Coulson. When my wife told Natasha, I wasn't altogether too sure of the assassin's reaction. Outwardly, it seemed like her stoic self, accepting another critical mission from Fury. Actually, that is probably an accurate way of describing how Natasha felt about being a godmother. Evy's well-being was her mission, and like any good agent she would see it through with calm and clear-headed determination. Maybe that's why I didn't see it. If Evy was just a mission to her, then there should be no emotional attachment, but at the end of the day there is an undeniable truth to be reckoned with. Natasha Romanov was scared that day Evy was taken to the hospital. I didn't see the deadly assassin's inability to cope with her goddaughter's illness until a night only a few months after her surgery.

I woke up without any knowledge of why: Evy was not crying and the Avengers had not been called to assembled, but I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was there. I got out of bed quickly and quietly, making a beeline for Evy's room-the most precious place to me in the entire building. Peering over the corner, my heart stopped. Someone was most definitely in the room with Evy and they were leaning over her basinet. It took every fiber of my being to not barrel in there and cause as much distress as possible to the person who would dare come into my house and try to harm my little girl- which is exactly what I intended to do until I heard them speak.

"I am sorry, дорогой, I haven't spent much time with you, lately." I decided to wait and watch, trying to understand why Natasha would feel the need to talk to my baby at this time of night. She sighed and sat on the chair next to the basinet.  
"Why did your momma choose me?" she asked. "She told me that I had to protect you if anything should happen to her. She made me promise that I would look out for you and your papa."  
"I'm not like the godmothers in the stories we read or the shows we watch. I don't have a magic fairy wand that I can wave and make you feel better...I have a magnum, but your papa wouldn't like it if I waved that around you." Damn straight, I thought.  
"She was wrong. She should have chosen Pepper. She would have been a great godmother-taking you shopping, going everywhere, being there no matter what happens in your life...but I can't be that-I don't know how to be that," she stood up. "If I had a fairy wand, I'd bring your momma back, because I am poor substitute for her."  
"Evy, even if I'm not a good godmother and I'm not a fairy, and I'm not your mother and I don't know how to be any of those things...I still want to protect you. I don't want to lose you. So if I'm doing anything wrong, just let me know. It will be our little secret. It's my job to keep secrets and to play my assigned role. Just let me know what that is, okay? Please tell me how to protect you." I left the two alone at that point, letting them make their secret pact.

I had once asked why she had chosen Natasha as the godmother. It wasn't anything that I personally held against the agent, but Natasha didn't seem like the 'godmother' type. Evy's mother told me a little while after a mission that had gone wrong, leaving Clint in the hospital for several weeks.  
_"She needs someone."  
"What?" I asked.  
"Natasha is the job and the job is her. Without Clint, I don't think she would be able to survive in this world. He gave her hope that she could be more than what she was programmed. And that's why I chose her. I'm sure she'll be a fine godmother to Evy, and she may need some help understanding what her part is, but what Natasha really needs is another reason to not just survive. She needs another reason to live."  
_So really the roles are actually reversed-Natasha may protect Evy, but in the end Evy was really meant to protect Natasha. And if Natasha lost that...I decided to check-in on her the next morning.


	12. Communication- Part 2

Ch. 12: Communication-part 2

After Clint introduced the 'block tower' to our home, it became a regular sight in our living room as the archer tried to get the little girl to talk. I don't know what he did, but Evy did say her first word during one of these sessions:  
"Coo-ee."  
I felt a mixture of emotions; I had worried for so long that she would never speak-that something was truly wrong. But, hearing her first word be the name of her stuffed animal, wasn't what I had planned. Clint and I spent several weeks trying to get her to say any derivative of the word 'father' we could come up with: dad, daddy, papa, dada...not a single syllable that would sound that word left her. Part of me wondered and feared that she knew me only as the 'captain' or 'cap.' It wouldn't have been her fault; so many people close to her used that nickname for me since long before she was even conceived. But I didn't want to be the captain, not to her. I also worried that perhaps I was not around enough to be recognized by my own child. She comes running to me whenever she needs something or just wants my presence, but she won't call for me, and deep down I needed that.

The missions are starting to become more frequent and the villains all the more bizarre. The Avengers were called to resolve a hostage crisis involving the Serpent Society, which I am sure you can guess is a group of reptilian-mutated individuals. So I suited up and kissed my little girl goodbye as she played with her auntie Pepper in the living room.  
"Good bye Evy. I'll be back, be good for your auntie," she faced me, smiled and waved happily.  
"Bye, bye," she called as she scooted off the couch and over to her dolls. I waited, hoping she would add something onto the end of the sentence. Pepper must've known what I was waiting for and also tried to solicit the word from Evy.  
"Evy, aren't you going to give your daddy a goodbye kiss?" She put down her toys and turned back, blowing me a kiss, which was pretty adorable, but not exactly what I had wanted. I sighed knowing too well that I couldn't just wait around hoping that she would suddenly jump up and call to me. Pepper placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze.  
"Don't worry Steve. She knows it's you. I bet she'll say it when you least expect it."  
"I know. Thank you for watching her, we haven't had a new batch of villains in quite a while."  
"As long as you're away, you count on me to keep an eye on her." With one last thank you, I threw my shield over my shoulders and approached the door.  
"Bye, bye!" Evy called to me again. I waved and in return blew her a kiss. She giggled. I walked out of the door as she continued to wave goodbye through a fit of giggles.

The battle was longer than I had expected. What should have been a simple rescue operation turned into an altercation with the Serpents and their weapon supplier, AIM. At some point, Tony called ahead and made sure that Pepper and Evy leave the tower until we were sure the threat had been neutralized. Rescuing the hostages took a day and a half, the resulting battle took four days and on the fifth day, I was stuck in a never-ending debriefing session with Lareby, who thanks to my infant, did get a transfer out of field assignments. Now, I don't like to point fingers and assume the worst of people, but I think he's harboring some resentment. He kept me there for twice the amount of time than the others. Tony, in his usual 'I am Iron Man and do not need to deal with this,' left after the first hour, which meant that I had to make sure his paperwork was done as well. Needless to say I was exhausted, irked, and overall ready to go home. She was waiting for me.

I entered the apartment late in the evening, fully expecting Evy to already be in bed. Instead I was accosted by a solemn Pepper and a disgruntled Evy staring at me. Pepper rose and I could see that the weariness and worry of the last five days on her face. I was worried that Evy might have added additional, unneeded stress for the kind-hearted lady, and just as I was about to ask, she approached me, holding her hand up and shaking her head. She pointed to the door and walked out without a word. That was odd. I turned back to see Evy, face now bright red and her lips puckered into a frown.  
"Sweetheart," I knelt down next to her. "why aren't you in bed?" As I reached out to pick her up, she hit me. My daughter tried to give me a shiner! It didn't hurt, but I was certainly shocked to see my calm and passive child lash out with incredible aim. I was about to have a stern talk with the one-year-old, when she let out two small hiccups, before dissolving into my arms, sobbing. She buried her face into my shoulder, little arms wrapped tightly around my neck. I was confused and held onto her, trying to soothe her. Her little voice was muffed into my suit. I couldn't make out what she was saying and so I picked her up and shifted her on my arm, gently bouncing her as I used to do when she was much younger.  
"Shhhh. Evy it's all right. No one going to hurt you. Daddy's here."  
"No go, da-e." I stopped bouncing her. What did she say?  
"What?" I asked, certain that I was just delirious. She pulled away from my neck and looked me in the eye.  
"NO GO DADDY!" she wailed, burying himself once again in my arms.

Pepper told me that after I left, Evy kept waving goodbye to the door and giggle, like this was all some sort of game that we were playing. When I obviously wasn't opening the door and waving back, she got up and approached the door and sat down waiting for an answer, with a confused look on her face. After a few minutes she went back to her playing but always, Pepper said, always she looked back to the door. In the afternoon, she began to perk up and lead Pepper around the apartment, in search of something.  
"Evy what are we looking for? Maybe I know where it is?" She put her finger up to her lips and shushed her aunt, before barreling into my bedroom. She looked through my entire room, checking under the bed and in the closets. Eventually, she was frustrated and sat on the floor calling out a single word.  
"Olliox!" Pepper didn't know what that meant, but I did. She couldn't say that large word just yet and so when we played hide-and-seek, she settled for a shortened form. She thought we were playing yet another game. Pepper was able to coax her from the room and to the dinner table where she was unusually quiet. After dinner and one of her favorite movies, she tugged on Pepper's sleeve.  
"Where da-e?" Pepper said that had she not seen the latest news on the attack, therefore knowing that we were all in combat at the moment, she would've called me up then and there so that I could hear her say it for the first time. Instead, Pepper tried to explain that I was 'at work' and 'would be back soon.' She went to bed that night, like the obedient little girl I raised, but when she woke up to find her aunt and not me by her bed, obedience was out the window. For the next day and a half she called out my name trying to get me to appear. When Pepper received the call from Tony, telling her to take Evy and leave, she told me that it was by far the most heart-breaking thing to try and tear her away from the apartment. She wouldn't leave, and eventually Pepper just had to reach down and grab her as she flailed about crying. She cried and called for me for the next three and a half days...but I wasn't there to answer it. I didn't know how I should feel at learning about my daughter's week: embarrassed at her behavior, hurt that I left her on those terms, or relieved and proud that she finally said my name. Pepper assured me that it broke her heart more than anything-she knew Evy wasn't always this ornery. Fury was right, things had to change. I just wished there was another parent, family, someone out there trying to be both the hero of the nation and the father of a child. I needed to know what to do, because I can't leave her like that again. And then, what if I never came back?

A few days later, I walked in to find another 'tower' session in action, and was a little-no I was very confused. Clint was seated next to Evy, dressed in an exact replica of his figurine's purple costume and on the other side was stewing under vast amounts of poorly applied green face paint. I only saw the last bit of the section as Evy got off the ground and ran over to the scientist.  
"Uncy Clint silly!" she told Bruce as she hugged him, earning a prolonged groan from the archer.  
"Then who am I?" he asked the little girl. She pondered for a moment and then with a big smile:  
"Perty Birdy!" He moaned and then with the good humor he always had with the little girl, flapped his arms like wings and scooped up grabbing.  
"Squawk! Perty Birdy going to tickle little Evy!"


	13. Ch 13: Fatherhood part 1

**AN: I am so sorry about the lack of updates. School has started to really get crazy for me, but I will endeavor to post again by this weekend. The next few 'ficlets' feature many different Marvel fathers as our Captain/Father tries to find his parent/superhero balance.**

Ch. 13: Fatherhood part 1

So after dropping my baby girl off at her Uncle Phil's, I took off to meet an old friend. After the serpents' incident, I knew that some changes needed to be made. I can't leave her for five days at a time as she cries her eyes out, elevating her heart rate to dangerous levels. I needed advice. Unfortunately, none of the other Avengers have children and none of the Breakfast Club were superheroes. I just needed someone who had experience on both sides.

I arrived at the bar at 6:30 in the evening, having ridden my motorcycle for the first time in so long. I really should add a car seat or a side car-something so that when she is a little older, we can go on rides. She already loves the bike having seen me work on it. I'll never forget how she strode up to me one day asking if she could help me fix it. I told her that she could wipe off the dust. I didn't know at the time that she was holding a small piece of sand paper until I heard the faintest of scratches. She looked so upset when she saw the lines in the paint that I couldn't be mad.  
_"Daddy, I hurt bike!" she sniffled._ _With the extraordinary patience I had learned in all my field experience I let go my pained expression. This bike and I had been through a lot-an entire war. It was truly a miracle that Peggy had thought and cared to store it for several decades. It was the last remaining piece of my former life-but I had a new life and the critical component of that was standing in front of me in her new jumper and rain boots, tears streaming down her face and hands in a death grip around the sandpaper. After a few reassurances of the bike's 'feelings,' Evy was still uncertain. She tugged on my shirt collar, pulling me close, with fist over mouth, she whispered.  
"It ugly?" She asked. She was truly worried that she had defiled the motorcycle. I decided to show her something that I hadn't shown to anyone else.  
"Baby, it's called a scar. You get them after battles. Sometimes they look ugly, but not every scar is completely bad. I have a scar." I rolled up my sleeves and showed her the injection marks from the serum. After the super soldier serum, I healed much faster, but the injection marks never disappeared. She stood on her tiptoes and peered at my arms.  
"This is how I became Captain America," I told her.  
"Hurt?" She asked. He finger traced the skin surrounding the scar.  
"It did, but it reminds me of everything that came after the serum."  
"Good scar?"  
"Good scar?" She began to giggle haplessly, cupping her mouth.  
"Make more good scars?" she asked pointing at the bike. I laughed and pulled her into an embrace.  
"Sweetie, it's called looking at the glass half full!"  
"Haf' full milk!" she piped up as I carried her off away from the sandpaper and the motorcycle. "An' cookies, daddy!"_

I'll never cover it up-call me a sentimental old fool, but those scratches are special.  
"Hey bub?" A familiar voice snapped me out of my reverie. "Are you going to sit there starring at your bike all night or are we going to get some drinks and those hot wings." And there he was, looking just like he did back in the 1940s, before he was deployed to the Pacific theater. I only recently had learned that it was because of his healing abilities.  
"It's good to see you again Logan," I said finally getting off the bike.  
"I didn't expect to hear from you, Captain." he replied, snuffing out the cigarette. We both grabbed a seat at the bar counter, ordered some drinks and of course the wings I promised him.  
"So you call me up out of the blue, this isn't about your team is it?" He asked taking a giant swig. "I'm not doing mercenary work anymore, you know?"  
"I heard. I also heard you were an...art teacher?" I asked with a smile.  
"Modern art...art history..."he drawled off at the sight of the giant basket of wings set in front of us.  
"There's nothing wrong with teaching..." I said grabbing a few wings from the basket.  
"And what about you? I heard that you married that girl of yours. Have you been domesticated?"  
"Somewhat, still donning the suit though. That's why I wanted to talk to you tonight."  
"You need marital advice? I'm not sure if I'm the love doctor if you catch my drift."  
"What about fatherhood?"  
"Are you going to be a father?"  
"Actually," I pulled my wallet out to show off my little girl. "I already am." Logan grabbed the pictures. He chuckled at a few of them.  
"She looks just like her mom, but she's got your charm."  
"She's definitely my baby girl," I replied with immense pride.  
"So what can I do you for? From the looks of these, you already have been a parent for awhile." I took in a deep breath-it was still hard to tell people-especially those who knew her personally-that she was gone.  
"But I've only just become a single father." I told Logan everything-from the phone call to Evy's heart condition, to the current situation. He didn't drink during my explanation; he just sat and listened, rubbing the condensation off the mug. After I had finished, he remained quiet.  
"I'm sorry Steve. I didn't know that she-"he took a sip of beer. "Maybe I can help-I could use some of my sources. I'm not saying they'll turn up anything that you don't probably already know, but they are damn good at what they do."  
"I would appreciate that," I answered. He nodded gruffly.  
"There is something else I was hoping you could help me with," I began. "I need advice. I don't know of any other superhero parents and I thought that you might know of some who are-well."  
"Mutant?" He finished for me.  
"Yes," I said. "There's gotta be someone who's both an active super and a parent."  
"The most I know have either left the job or...are no longer around," I nodded to show my understanding. "But cap, why are you asking me-go ask Reed about Franklin."  
"Franklin?"  
"Franklin Richards. The son of the Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic'?"  
"I didn't know that the Fantastic Four had children." He had to be mistaken-I've worked with the Fantastic Four dozens of times and they never mentioned children.  
"He's their best kept secret," Logan finished his beer. "Although he's pretty high on our radar. He's an omega class mutant-I think he just turned eight...he's got these mind-reality changing powers."  
This changed everything-I never expected that someone so close professionally and geographically-might be my one chance to give Evy a better life. Is that what it took to raise their son? Would it be the same with my Evy?


	14. Fatherhood Part 2

Fatherhood part 2

After talking to Logan, I was determined to meet with Reed and Sue. I decided to drop-by the next evening. I learned very quickly that Logan wasn't mistaken. Franklin did exist...I happened to be starring down the barrels of his toy pistols the moment I walked out of the elevator.  
"Reach for the sky!" the boy shouted as I stood outside elevator. I did what any sensible person would do-comply.  
"What's your business stranger?" He asked tilted his head to the side. I raised my hands to show no weapon in sight.  
"Well son, I stopped by to talk with your parents." He cocked his pistol.  
"You came to talk about me," he lowered his guns. "You're Captain America and I'm the sheriff in these parts." He seemed to be practicing a slow, Texan drawl, as he glared at me through squinting eyes. Suddenly he holstered the guns and pulled his hat off so that it hung by a rope around his neck.  
"Hey, you're not dressed like Captain America...how come? I wanted to play with your shield!"  
"My shield isn't a toy. Did you know I was coming?" He starred down at the floor.  
"Umm, bye!" He ran off leaving the door ajar. My manners prevented me from following, until I heard a voice call out to me.  
"It's okay, mom and dad said you can come in!" Hesitating, I entered the main room. No one appeared to be there. I heard the shuffle of shoes and noticed that Franklin had returned this time with his own shield.  
"Here," he handed me the miniature version. "Just in case. You shouldn't go anywhere without it."  
"Good point Franklin. Now where are your parents?" The blonde boy gazed off for a moment. His face broke into a toothy smile.  
"Mom's coming," his face contorted into confusion. "Dad said he'll come up in a bit. Hey! Do you want to be my deputy? You can have your a badge and..."he leaned in, looked to both sides and whispered. "You can have your own bottle of root beer..." He puffed up his chest.  
"But that's all you're getting outta me until we catch those robbers. Deal?" This little boy was a card!  
"Frankie," we both turned to see that Sue had indeed joined us, with hands on hips. "Do you want to tell me what happened to uncle Johnny's video games?"  
"Dog-gone robbers stole uncle Johnny's games?!" His jaw dropped in mortification. "Those varmints will pay!" He took out his pistol and ran out of the room.  
"It's good to see you Captain," Sue gestured to a nearby chair.  
"It's wonderful seeing you again. I don't suppose Logan told you that I'd be stopping by."  
"Logan," she said shaking her head. "That explains a lot. No, we didn't know you were coming, but we figured that you might one day and Franklin kept going on about how Captain America was visiting us today."  
"He's quite the kid," I commented. "I was actually surprised that I hadn't met him before today. We fought Dr. Doom together last week."  
"Yes. We don't usually introduce him to anyone outside of the tower," she explained. "I guess Logan has told you that Frankie is an omega level mutant?"  
"He did, but to be honest I'm not entirely sure what that means."  
"An omega level mutant has a great deal of power. Not only does he have a significant mutation, but the cosmic energy that makes me the Invisible Woman, also enhanced his abilities. He's a telepath who can change the very fabric of reality if his powers weren't in check."  
"That's how he knew I was coming."  
"Exactly," she replied. "Even though we have limited the full use of his powers, the mutant registration act would expose his full capabilities to the public. He would be hunted."  
"I thought the registration act had been shelved several years ago?" I asked.  
"Shelved, but not forgotten. Even without it, there are too many out there who would use him and his powers to their advantage."  
"That's why you've kept him a secret," I concluded.  
"We wanted to give our son a fighting chance-he has to spend the rest of his life with the consequences of his actions and the public's reactions, we just wanted to give him a childhood free of those worries."  
"I understand," I said leaning forward. "Your secret will be safe with me."  
"From Shield?"  
"From Shield as well," I reassured her. At that moment Mister Fantastic entered the room holding a flour covered Frankie to his side.  
"Captain," Reed addressed me. "I'll join you in a moment, I just have to clean up this rapscallion."  
"But dad!" Frankie whined. "I was chasing robbers! They were in the kitchen!" I watched father and son struggle off to the washroom.  
"Has he asked for a red-rider bee bee gun?" I asked quirking a smile.  
"Thank heavens no. If we can keep him away from the 24 hour Christmas special for one more year, we just might survive the 'cowboy' phase."  
"I keep hoping a similar thing about Evy's obsession with toucans." Sue nodded in agreement. Mister Fantastic strolled in and took a seat next to his wife.  
"I have to hand it to you, captain," said Reed. "You're doing a fine job with Evy."  
"I appreciate that, but honestly I came here today because I am at my wits' end," I explained. "How do you two do it? How can you be both parents and Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman?"  
"First thing you need to accept is that you're never going to be perfect, especially when you're trying to juggle your duty to your country and the duty to your child," he told me. "There are a lot of sacrifices we make, but we make them as a family. You have to take each situation separately and judge them accordingly." Reed droned on for awhile longer; I meant no disrespect, but he was saying everything that I already knew. I was getting nowhere fast.  
"Steve," Sue leaned forward. "Do you want to know what really keeps us going?" I nodded ferociously. "Each other."  
"Frankie is not just our child, he is Johnny's and Hank's as well. Reed is right. We can't always be there for our son, even though we dearly want to. When we can't be there, we know our team can. It takes a village to raise a child, and we're lucky that they happen to love him as much as we do." Suddenly Frankie burst into the room, riding the back of his Uncle Johnny.  
"This way! They're getting away, you have to be faster than that!"  
"Geez kiddo, give me a break. Even Silver has to have a hay break every now and then!"  
I left, promising Frankie that I would bring my shield the next time I visited. I can't say that I am entirely relieved about the visit I had. I still wasn't sure of how I was going to improve my daughter's life. At least there were others trying, and from what I can tell succeeding at raising a child while being a superhero. Frankie was a lucky boy to have all these wonderful people-true heroes-in his life, but I'm not sure I could ever hide Evy as they hide Franklin. I can only pray that she will never have to face the trials that little boy will surely see in his time.

I returned to the apartment to see that Clint had once again, despite it being part of his regular babysitting duties, neglected to wash the dinner dishes. Groaning, I approached Evy's door where I could hear his voice reciting some sort of bedtime story.  
"And that, my little chickadee," he told her "is what happened in Budapest. Now you're going to have to promise to keep it a secret. Deal?"  
"Dee!" she squealed squeezing his fingers. What kind of story was he telling her?!


	15. Fatherhood Part 3

**AN: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I'll try to update again before the end of the week, but I have a few project deadlines coming up so it might be Thursday or Friday.**

Fatherhood Part 3

Mary had graciously agreed to watching Evy during some of the shorter excursions with the Avengers. I had stopped by wearily clocked in my worn leather jacket, hoping that it would conceal my suit. Mary invited me to have some of their leftover pizza while Evy and Jonah finished their movie together.  
"I'm sorry I can't help you more," Mary said. I confided my parenting troubles.  
"I was foolish to expect some sort of manual or easy solution," I took a bite out of one of the mini pizzas Evy made.  
"Like I always said, you don't have to do this alone. I don't know how I could both raise Jonah and work fulltime without all the wonderful people in my life. I am very fortunate," she confided. "And you, you are just as lucky. You have the Avengers, you have Heather, Jess, Marnie, and I hope you know that I am still here."  
"I know and I can't tell you how thankful I am," I smiled. I looked over to see Evy and Jonah get very excited as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tinman, the Cowardly Lion and Toto had just entered the Emerald city. It was one of her favorite movies and one that I enjoyed sharing with her. She turned to face me and pointed to the TV happily.  
"Daddy they see widar!"  
"The wonderful wizard of Oz?" I asked feigning a shocked and astonishment.  
"Daddy!" She laughed. "Yes! The song daddy! See the song daddy?"  
"I hear the song sweetie." She giggled at me and settled back down to watch the Cowardly Lion sing his 'King of the Forest' song. I turned back to see Mary giving me a look.  
"Huh?"  
"You really are an amazing father. I hope you know that."  
"For how much longer?" I asked quietly. Mary nodded, clearly understanding my worry.  
"If you have to choose between..."she stopped. "If you do choose, we'll support your decision, whatever it is."  
"I can't-As long as there is evil, as long as there are those wish to harm the innocent, I will continue to protect them. Now, I have more reason than ever," I said.

I had settled Evy down for bed, having some unfinished business to attend to. Mary had done so much for me and Evy that I wanted to show my appreciation. She had been very worried for the last week having not heard from her husband. I thought I could arrange for a video chat. I didn't have many connections in the army at this moment, but I did have a high ranking individual who owed me a favor. After a quick phone call, I was ready to call it a successful evening, but then someone had to knock. I hoped that Evy wouldn't be woken up by whoever it was who decided that pounding on the door was more effective.  
"I'm coming," I grunted making my way from the office to the front door.  
"Ello El Capitan!" Tony shouted in my ear.  
"Tony," I grabbed his shoulders and hushed him. "Evy is sleeping."  
"Oh," he slurred a messing 'shhhh.' "Don't want to wake up the baby!"  
"Have you been drinking?" I asked, nose scrunched up. He smelled like alcohol.  
"No, I haven't been drinking," he hiccupped and pulled his arm up from his side. "I _am _drinking!" He took a swig from what I gathered to be one of the many bottles he had consumed.  
"And now," I grabbed the bottle from him "You are drinking water."  
"Aye aye cap!" he tipped an imaginary hat to me. I grabbed a cup and held it under the tap.  
"So what's the occasion?" I asked. "Or is it my lucky night?" I saw that he was laying on my couch, face down mumbling.  
"What?" I handed him the cup of water.  
"You can't get drunk no matter what?" He tilted his face and sipped the water. He contorted into a disgusted face and spit the water out. "This is water!"  
"Exactly."  
"Cap, I thought you were my friend!"  
"I am your friend, and friends don't let friends get drunk for no reason."  
"I have a reason!"  
"For no good reason."  
"It's a good reason!" I lifted my eyebrow.  
"I only confide in Jack Daniels..." He withdrew another flask from jacket.  
"Looks like you're gonna have to confide in Steve Rogers." I snatched it away.  
"But my Jack...my Jack Daniels..."  
"We have a minor in this apartment..."  
"Miner," he started laughing in the cushion. "Miner forty-niner and his daughter Clementine! I'm so sad that I left you darling Clementine... like oranges. Itty bitty oranges. Everything is itty bitty and little. Oh my darling!" He started singing loudly and very out of tune.  
"Tony, knock it off."  
"My darling," he trailed off.  
"Maybe I should call Pepper," I tried to stand up and call his ever-patient and level-headed girlfriend.  
"Pepper's busy...and angry."  
"Angry, I see. That's what you needed to say to Mr. Daniels?"  
"It's captain actually," I just shook my head; if Pepper was angry and Tony drunk then I figured it would be best to make up the couch for the extremely inebriated Iron Man Grabbing an extra blanket and pillow I returned to find Tony holding a picture frame in his hands. I noticed that it was the family portrait taken shortly after Evy was born. I put the pillow down and began fitting the blanket to the couch.  
"Do you miss her?" Tony wasn't too disoriented to notice my presence.  
"Every day," I replied busying myself with the task at hand.  
"I'd miss Pepper..." he kept his head down and was quiet for so long, I worried that he had passed out while sitting up.  
"Tony?" I reached to push him down onto the couch.  
"I can't do this," he muttered. "I'm not you, Steve."  
"No, you're not me, but I'm sure you can sleep as well as anyone."  
"No... No!" He pushed me away. "I can't. I'll be just like him. I know you liked him, but I hated him-and I loved him. I don't want to be hated. I don't want to be _him_." I sat on the edge of the couch, sudden realization hitting me.  
"When did you find out?" I asked quietly.  
"Today," he mumbled. "Cap, I'm no good. It's not in my code, it's beyond my parameters. They'll hate me. They'll be messed up. I'll never be good enough."  
"I'll tell you what you are," I knelt down so I was eye-level with him. "You are a hero. You may be a jerk good portion of the time, and you always seem ready to put me through a ringer, but when it is someone or something you care about, you are determined to protect it. No matter what happens and who else comes into your life now, I have no doubt that you'll do just the same. That makes you a good man, a good parent, in my book."  
"You're right I'm Tony Stark," he reassured himself.  
"And you're Iron Man."  
"I'm Iron Man," he said to himself, but scoffed at his own remarks. "That just means they'll be in more danger. How do you do it Steve? How can handle being a father?"  
"I've had help, and so will you."  
"What if I'm as bad as Howard?"  
"Do you think Pepper would honestly let that happen?" He mumbled more incoherent words and settled on the couch.  
"I failed my first test. Pepper thinks I'm a jerk."  
"You can't go to her like this," I told him "Just get some rest and talk to her in the morning, and Tony? Try not to snore."

Having tucked-in my overnight visitor, I sneaked a peak into Evy's room. Something wasn't entirely right. As I came closer to her crib I saw her wide awake and sobbing. Without a word I swooped her up.  
"No!" she cried harder until she saw that it was me holding her. "Daddy, monees take me."  
"Monees? The flying monkeys?" She nodded, eyes spilling over with tears.  
"They take me to witch!" She sobbed.  
"Evy, daddy won't let that happen." I heard a small beeping sound; her pacemaker was alerting me of an elevated heart rate.  
"Evy, shhhh...come on sweetie. There is nothing to be scared about. Nothing will ever take you from me, do you know why? Because if I can't stop the monkeys, then your uncle Tony will, and if he can't, then your Nattie will, and if she can't, then Uncle Clint will and Uncle Thor and Uncle Bruce, and Auntie Pepper. None of us will let those monkeys take you away."  
"Daddy, monee still here," she pointed to a corner where her toy box stood.  
"All right, then I'll make him leave. But I need you to say the magic words. Do you remember them?" She shook her head as I set her in the crib. "What does Dorothy say to get home? 'There's no place like home.' Flying monkeys hate that." I approached the toy box.  
"If there are any flying monkeys hiding in Evy's toy box then they'd better take their little jackets and high-tail out of here. One. Two. Three." I lifted up the toy box and quickly opened the window, ushering out any fairytale monsters and minions that could possibly be there.  
"And don't you come back, or you'll have to deal with the rest of us! Tell your witch we'll be waiting with buckets of water!" I returned to Evy who was still shaking, but curiously peering over to the box. I turned on the light showing her that the box contained no hiding monkeys. She sighed, but didn't want to return to the crib. Instead she snuggled deeper into my arms, forcing me to hold her. It didn't look like I'd be getting to sleep anytime soon anyway.  
"No more monees?" she asked sleepily.  
"No more monkeys."  
"Love you," she whispered.  
"I love you too, sleep tight my baby girl," I held her sleeping frame close to me. Tony should get all the sleep he can. After tonight, his life is going to take a new direction, and despite it all, I can't say that it is unpleasant one.  
A brown head peered into the room. A groggy Tony looked around confusedly.  
"I heard someone say something about flying money?" I shook my head, preferring not to comment. "Oh good. The last time I tried to do that, it didn't end well."


End file.
